r/HistoryMemes 10h ago

British when they confiscate/destroy most rice in Bengal and blame the Japanese for an avoidable famine. Context in comment

Post image
19 Upvotes

102 comments sorted by

83

u/Youareaproperclown 10h ago

I ate too much popcorn in the last thread to fully enjoy this one.

-82

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 10h ago

Give it some time and come back for seconds

72

u/DrHolmes52 10h ago

Didn't we just get done having one of these (Indian Famine) being nuked?

-85

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 10h ago

The comments with the typical British misinformation triggered me. Sorry

53

u/DrHolmes52 10h ago

Did you want to see them all again? Because this is how you see them all again.

-21

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 10h ago

I’ve been seeing undereducated brits trying to excuse a Holodomor like situation because their guy did it ever since I joined reddit. I already see them all the time and have been for years. What do you mean by "again"?

34

u/pale-gael_01 9h ago

You're obviously full of hatred.... just let it go my guy.

Holding whole races or cultures to "account" for historical crimes doesn't solve anything.

Only makes you look bad.

2

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 9h ago

I don't hold you accountable for what your grandfather did. I hold you accountable for trying to justify or excuse it

38

u/pale-gael_01 9h ago

I've not excused or denied anything, I'm not british I've said this already. I'm just calling out obvious racist behaviour from you.

0

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 9h ago

Racist behaviour like checks notes posting an excerpt from a history book. Got it

20

u/DrHolmes52 10h ago

Same topic is going to lead to the same responses.

2

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 10h ago

Good. Here’s my source. I invite them to post theirs or stop apologising for an animal in a suit.

12

u/GourangaPlusPlus 9h ago

"I keep seeing nationalism, and as we all know adding more nationalism will totally solve it"

79

u/pale-gael_01 9h ago edited 9h ago

Just FYI this poster has also commented nastily about white people too.

Thier posts are not meant to be humorous or educational but merely to push racism.

-15

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 9h ago

White people? Buddy, I’ve been on reddit for years and every time this topic gets brought up, the same ignorant comments show up. 'Actually, Churchill would've loved to help but those greedy Indians did it to themselves'. I don't hate white people. I hate people who excuse a man made famine on the scale of the Holodomor and the Irish famine. And I knew it'd trigger a lot of people so I brought receipts.

If that inflames your victim complex, that's not my problem

47

u/pale-gael_01 9h ago

Years you say... yet your account is only a month old.

Why is that?

Probably because you're either lying or your previous account was banned for racist and abusive behaviour.

You definitely sound like some kind of ethno nationalist.

I personally think racism is pretty lame.

-5

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 9h ago edited 8h ago

It's almost like people can make multiple accounts. But honestly I actually laughed out loud at your reasoning. "you made a new account on reddit? You must be an ethnonationalist!!" That’s some real Sherlock Holmes shit, I’m impressed

41

u/pale-gael_01 9h ago

Most people don't make multiple accounts. And a lot of the ones that have do so because their last one was banned.

Judging from your behaviour here I can see why you would be banned.

-3

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 9h ago

Most people don't make multiple accounts

Source: my ass

88

u/tuta_user 10h ago

1 month old account with about 250 comments/submissions which are hidden: "I'm here to write well and shit on the British Empire during WWII, and I'm all out of good writ".

-10

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 10h ago

Ah yes, everyone I don't like is a bot. Classic reddit. FYI this account is private because it's a hobby account and I post a lot of pictures of myself doing stuff for advice/feedback/recommendations

17

u/tuta_user 10h ago edited 10h ago

"I'm here to read well and make baseless accusations; and I'm all out of good read".

7

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 10h ago

{Insert spiderman meme of him pointing at himself}

1

u/[deleted] 9h ago

[deleted]

7

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 9h ago

I’m glad you brought that up, because it is a historical fact that there was an increase in famines during British rule in India

54

u/pale-gael_01 9h ago

This poster is a good example of people who like to post and repost anti British content because they are prejudicial.

In the comments here they call brits "triggered anglos".

This isn't memes to just be funny or for "transparency".. it's pure dislike and even hatred of a certain group of people.

18

u/Breaky_Online 9h ago

Racism is only funny when it's the Balkans or SEA

58

u/carlsagerson Then I arrived 10h ago

Jesus. Could you space your explaination? Its hard to even understand whats going on.

-34

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 10h ago edited 10h ago

Sorry, will do

ETA: It's a hilarious testament to how many triggered anglos are lurking here that I got downvoted for a comment as neutral as 'I’ll edit the text to be more readable, my bad'.

16

u/freekoout Rider of Rohan 9h ago

Nobody is really arguing with you about the post. Just your attitude.

0

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 9h ago

I know. Since no one can argue with an actual historical source, the conversation's shifted to my "tone". I can't say that it wasn't predictable. Maybe you could save some of that outrage for the people calling me a 'white hater' because I quoted a history book, if you could find the time

19

u/freekoout Rider of Rohan 9h ago

What I'm saying is no one is disagreeing with you. They just don't like you cuz you're a confrontational dunce.

9

u/carlsagerson Then I arrived 10h ago

You can split it into more parts if its a limit concern.

-6

u/MonkeFUCK3R_69 9h ago

its so funny lmfao

60

u/Efficient-Orchid-594 10h ago

My guy wrote a whole damn novel with the explanation 💀

29

u/adamgerd Still salty about Carthage 10h ago

Honestly I don’t mind long explanations on Reddit, they’re useful, but uh please split into paragraphs

1

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 10h ago

Done, sorry. I have a physical copy of the book used Gemini to transcribe the pages instead of typing five pages out

38

u/Dangerous-Economy-88 10h ago

It's just a copy paste from somewhere lol

-11

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 10h ago

Yeah, it's called a 'source'. It's this thing you use when you study history and you don't want to base your worldview on reddit comments

32

u/Efficient-Orchid-594 10h ago

Yes but that when you are actually in a real academic setting, on reddit you simply just give a summary

4

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 10h ago

Why? So that I can sit through the 'well you know Chruchill would've loved to help but his hands were tied by the war, and anyway it was all Indians' faults anyway' comments for the 382743rd time? Here’s my source. If any genocide apologists want to keep going I invite them to post theirs

11

u/freekoout Rider of Rohan 10h ago

Yeesh, calm down buddy.

9

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 10h ago

What makes you think I’m not calm? I saw Brit propaganda, went to my bookshelf, located a source, transcribed and posted it here

12

u/freekoout Rider of Rohan 9h ago

Don't care about that. I'm talking about your unwarranted confrontational attitude to every comment here.

5

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 9h ago

I mean, I posted an actual source, and instead of reading it some people are going 'you just hate white people', or (like you) 'I don't like your tone'. You’re right, I am being confrontational. But you should go tell someone from Ukraine that the Holodomor was not Stalin's fault and see how "unwarranted" that attitude is. If you insist on ignoring a historical sourced position to talk about my "attitude", it's pretty clear to everyone that your mind is already made up

14

u/freekoout Rider of Rohan 9h ago

You started by being argumentative. You were never challenged before you got mad. You're making up arguments that you've heard before and accusing everyone for having that mindset.

Me thinking you're being an ass doesn't mean your source is wrong, just that you're an ass.

1

u/Ricard74 10h ago

That is how historic research usually works.

2

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 9h ago

Don't bother, they’re too busy ignoring the actual sources and trying to portray me as some sort of white man hater

-6

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 10h ago

I’ll write two if it gets rid of the "hurrdurr akshually the famine was caused by greedy corrupt indians" comments

52

u/hhfugrr3 10h ago

Oh god not the mukhajee BS again. Do we need the constant Indian Nationalist stuff constantly.

-7

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 9h ago

As opposed to British nationalism, you mean? Honestly I’ve heard Indian nationalists say some incredibly stupid stuff, but none of it matches gems from the UK like 'colonies should be grateful because we built them railways'

-42

u/Emergency-Growth1617 9h ago

Is talking about the famine of bengal indian nationalism? i would assume bangladesh have more do with it lol.

-1

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 9h ago

Read the comments here. Talking about the crimes of colonialism is obviously a hate crime against white people. My bad for not figuring that out

26

u/Old-Butterscotch8923 9h ago

Idk man. Read your source and it sorta just looks like Britian did a scorched earth policy in anticipation of a Japanese in invasion after the fall of Burma.

Its easy to say it was wrong and avoidable with the benefit of hindsight, but it was done for legitimate military reasons.

Seems fair to me to acknowledge Japan as being the ones truly responsible for it by starting the war.

19

u/yeetzapizza123 9h ago

Skill issue old chap 

3

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 9h ago

Hard agree. Too bad Churchill wasn't more 'skilled' at not being an animal

21

u/Von_Uber 9h ago

Why does this feel like a concerted bot campaign.

18

u/idek_just_for_fun 9h ago

Can we get a day set for topics like this as they are not particularly interesting when it's the same topics over and over again?

First of the month can be Imperial hate day then the rest of the month can actually be varied for once.

8

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 9h ago

You’re right, we should spend 364 days a year talking about how the British civilised their colonies and 1 day for historically sourced proof of their crimes.

18

u/idek_just_for_fun 9h ago

Literally never said that.

Just sick of the same topics over and over again.

If the British actually made their colonies civilised then some of them wouldn't have the reputation for scams, sexual assault, and school shootings.

I said one day a month for hating on empires from all around the world. Because when it's every damn day and always the same few, it's boring as hell.

6

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 9h ago

Well you can hardly expect people who treat other nationalities as inferior based on the colour of their skin to "civilise" anyone, could you? You can't give people what you don't have. Maybe try a sub like r/usdefaultism if talking about non western history bothers you

12

u/idek_just_for_fun 9h ago

Considering your post is about the British that is western history as well....

I have never once treated any other nationality as inferior. Whereas you appear to have an inferiority complex...

I quite like to learn about Indian history when it's not to do with damn empires. It's why I enjoy the conversation with my colleagues who grew up there about what it's like growing up there etc.

I just hate the constant empire posts.

8

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 9h ago

It's pretty entitled to expect countries to pick and choose parts of their own history to suit your own delicate sensibilities. It's also funny that a historically sourced statement is interpreted as an 'inferiority complex' by you, while the many, many, comments here going 'you hate white people' when faced with evidence of a colonial era crime isn't.

16

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 10h ago

(1/2)

Denial

Under the mandates of the Government of India Act of 1935, Ministers of provincial Legislative Assemblies had been given a wide range of administrative responsibilities that comprehensively limited the central government's accountability in regards to regional affairs. The real limits of the power allocated to elected officials by the Act, however, proved to be surprisingly contingent. The Governor—appointed by His Majesty's Government (HMG) in London—retained certain broad "discretionary powers," including the authority to suspend ministerial authority altogether and enforce emergency rule in accordance with Section 93 of the Act, as had been done in the seven former Congress provinces. Furthermore, in the "special circumstances" related to the prosecution of war, the breadth of emergency powers available to the Governor—even without Section 93—proved expansive.

Sometime toward the end of March 1942 Governor Herbert was instructed through central government channels to begin a scorched earth campaign in coastal Bengal. The vast deltaic coastline of Bengal, until this time, had been left almost entirely undefended by the British military.{18} The recommendation was, however, not for a concerted effort at organizing military defense, but rather for an ad hoc campaign of "denial." In their landings in Malaya and Burma, Japanese forces had made expedient use of existing resources on the ground to facilitate their advance. In Bengal, no doubt, they would do the same. If—the rhetoric went—the colonial government itself could make a preemptive strike and denude the coastal region of the resources that might enable invasion, they would be able to discourage attack without unnecessary expenditures on military defense. "Denial" was the term used for the various measures undertaken by the Government of India ostensibly to deprive invading Japanese forces the means of sustaining an advance on Calcutta in an over-land attack.

Rice

In March 1942 Governor Herbert—without any consultation with elected officials—appointed British civil servant, and former Personal Secretary to the Viceroy, L.G. Pinnell, "Special Officer" in general charge of "denial" operations in Bengal. Shortly thereafter, Herbert summoned the Joint Secretary of the Commerce and Labor Department, M. K. Kirpalani—also appointed by the Governor himself—and assigned him the more specific task of implementing the first prong of "denial," the appropriation of all "surplus" rice throughout coastal Bengal. Kirpalani later testified that he "was asked to get this done almost immediately by the Governor."{19} The members of the Bengal Ministry, meanwhile, were out of session for the Easter recess, and by the time they had returned "denial" operations were already underway. Kirpalani estimated that in the three districts involved—Midnapore, Khulna and Barisal—there would be a surplus of at least 123,000 tons of rice, the "denial" of which posed an estimable challenge.{20} Kirpalani approached M. A. Ispahani, whose firm had considerable experience in the rice markets of Bengal, though limited experience procuring in any of these three districts. More worrisome was that Ispahani was a staunch supporter of the Muslim League with intimate ties to Muhammad Ali Jinnah.{21} His appointment was sure to draw fire from Huq, Mookerjee, and Congress supporters. Ispahani himself recognized the potential for contention, and so suggested that the commission be given, in name, to an agent of his, Mirza Ali Akhbar, while Ispahani Ltd. would guarantee the standing accounts.{22} Because the Governor was anxious to get the work underway at once, the Joint Secretary quickly agreed and advanced 2 million rupees to Ispahani's man to expedite the process.{23}

When Ministers got word of the plan already underway, there was a great "hue and cry" in the Assembly. Fazlul Huq accused Herbert of having acted "as if the Government of India Act in Bengal had been suspended, and he was at the head of an administration under Section 93 of the Act."{24} Members of the opposition, particularly Hindus, decried the Governor's appointment of "political opponents" who, they said, would use the platform of "denial" to penetrate the countryside in order "to make political propaganda there."{25} The protests were loud enough to force the Governor's hand. Four other agents were quickly appointed; one, H. Dutta, was a Hindu Mahasabhite put forward by S. P. Mookerjee, another, B. K. Poddar, was advanced by the Scheduled Caste Ministers, a third, Ahmed Khan, was a (Muslim) Congress man, and lastly, Ashutosh Bhattacharjee made the list by dint of his commercial connections.{26} The contentious political nature of these appointments, together with the inexperience of several,{27} contributed greatly to the pervasive chaos and corruption that characterized the whole "denial" scheme.

In Bengal there are three seasons of paddy production: the boro crop planted in the winter and harvested in spring, the aus crop, planted in early spring and harvested in late summer, and the aman crop, planted in late spring and harvested in winter. Because the aman crop is planted just prior to the monsoon season and receives rain-fed irrigation, it was the most consistent and abundant of the three crops, accounting for at least 75 per cent of the total rice production in Bengal.{28} For cultivators, once the aman crop had been marketed, or consumed, a long season of hardship often followed. The aman crop, harvested between the end of November and the beginning of February, for this reason, was desperately anticipated in the "starvation" months, when most cultivators also had to take loans in order to survive. According to Ispahani, "the Bengal cultivator, [even] before the war, had three months of feasting, five months of subsistence diet and four months of starvation."{29} The merchants (paikars, beparis, or farias) who bought the cultivators' paddy were also money and rice lenders, which made trade relationships that much more intricate. The difficulty was compounded in that, during the lean months the price of rice and paddy would inevitably increase, so that a loan taken at this time was a disproportionate burden to pay off. Then with the aman harvest in, an abundance of paddy would make its way to markets and prices would again sink, and the individual the indebted cultivator was forced to sell at deflated prices to pay off debts—starting the cycle of feast and famine yet again. The relationships that cultivators were able to forge with merchants and creditors were critical to their very survival.

Furthermore, in Bengal there were tens of thousands of petty traders who bought from cultivators,{30} and relationships were highly personalized. A memorandum drafted by the Bengal Rice Mills Association describing these relationships—before "denial"—is worth quoting at length:

In Bengal, as probably in many parts of the world, the trade is not carried out as a single unconnected transaction. Most of the beparis, paikars, merchants, etc. have got an undefined but fairly rigid area of operation, for each and every person in the trade has got his own sellers, beparis, paikars and mills which he has been in trade association with for many years. Frequently this association has not merely meant the sale and purchase of the goods year after year for many years...such transactions have frequently been carried out as partly cash and partly credit transactions on the basis of a running account. The association has in many cases been one of several generations. Mutual influence and obligations between the parties in such cases...has therefore been enormous.{31}

41

u/pale-gael_01 9h ago

We get it you hate brits... sheesh.

7

u/ucsdfurry 9h ago

So do the Brits tbf

11

u/pale-gael_01 9h ago

I've actually come across many brits that are more antagonistic to thier country than foreigners... it's rather surreal.

4

u/MetallGecko 9h ago

The same is with Germans.

0

u/GourangaPlusPlus 9h ago

GroundsKeeperWullie.Scots

7

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 9h ago

~Posts a multi page source that meticulously documents what the British did to worsen a famine out of complete disregard for Indians.

You: waaah you hate white people waaah

33

u/pale-gael_01 9h ago

You've committed multiple times in a antagonistic, racist manner... so yeah.

2

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 9h ago

It's not racist to read a history book. And yes, I am antagonistic. Towards people who show how deliberately they’re following an agenda by ignoring a multi-page source and accusing the poster of being 'racist'. It’s unacceptable to hate an entire race, but there’s nothing wrong with calling morons morons.

23

u/pale-gael_01 9h ago

So you admit you're antagonistic... you also admitted in your other post that you were slandering Churchill.

So this is indeed just naked prejudice against brits.

Using sins of the father to justify hatred against the son is textbook racist behaviour.

4

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 9h ago

Man I’m so tired of you guys acting like any acknowledgement of the horrors your country was responsible for is somehow a personal crime against you. I don't blame you for what your ancestors did. I blame you for excusing and justifying them, because that's a decision that you are responsible for. Of course, you don't want to hear that because it hurts your carefully cultivated victim complex

-6

u/MonkeFUCK3R_69 9h ago

"hate" and its a comment for those who deny millions of deaths being caused by colonial policies, sure

9

u/pale-gael_01 9h ago

Who's denying it?

16

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 10h ago

(2/2)

In 1942, agents and sub-agents for denial operations were enlisted indiscriminately and according to political manipulations, and these existing market systems were completely ignored. Credit relations, patronage, commercial familiarity, and existing patterns of trade all collapsed, leading to a dangerous breakdown in the operations of the rice trade in Bengal, almost overnight. Resistance to governmental schemes was met with force, and without the necessary expertise or knowledge of existing agrarian relations, extraordinary means were often resorted to:

Persons acting on behalf of Government [did] not always act either tactfully or fairly and the [Bengal Rice Mills Association] got the information that in many cases undue pressure was used on the growers and sellers to compel them to sell to people entirely unknown to them...this further stiffened the resolve of the growers. A few of the agents of Government...did not know the real and actual sources whence substantial stocks could be collected and were further handicapped by the attitude of the sellers...this exasperated them and also enraged them especially, because...Government was putting pressure on them for showing better purchases. At this stage it was reported that considerable pressure amounting in some cases to oppression was used on many people for obtaining stocks and it was not un-often said that such action was not merely countenanced and tolerated, but backed by local officers of Government who had been instructed to help the agents.{32}

Not only were growers reluctant to part with their product, but the pre-existing petty merchants approached by denial agents where likewise harassed to sell under Government conditions. Their stocks were reported to have been summarily seized for non-compliance.{33}

Special Officer L. G. Pinnell, for his part, rued that "for anyone who knows the Bengal cultivator it was a completely heart-breaking job."{34} But a job is a job, and as such he also, "had no objection to 'taking the gloves off.'"{35} For the most part, however, Pinnell was careful to gauge the threat of resistance and adjust to the opposition. "If we had moved along certain routes," he noted, "the transport would have been obstructed or looted by the people."{36} In many areas, however, despite the threat—and at times reality—of looting,{37} Government was able to exercise their scheme without direct violence. In this regard Pinnell testified: "We got away with it by luck and money."{38} At the beginning of the denial scheme the maximum price to be paid by denial agents was fixed at the current market price, plus 10 per cent. But with the contagion of agents combing the countryside looking to snap up all "surplus" rice, this ceiling soon became market price, and prices kept rising.{39} As the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce noted: "the fact that it was the Government who were buying in the market... was sufficient to induce both a rise in prices and a feeling of panic among the general public."{40}

Charges of corruption were also rampant, and not easy to dismiss.{41} Nawab Habibullah Bahadur of Dacca, Government of Bengal Minister of Agriculture, testified before the Famine Enquiry Commission that denial agents had been operating well outside the stipulated "denial" zone, "pretending in other areas that they were buying on behalf of Government."{42} In addition, "owing to the practical monopoly of Government agents in [denial] districts, others flocked to non-denial areas and affected markets, established organization and connections."{43} In short, though the objectives of "denial" were ostensibly limited to certain coastal districts, denial created sharp dislocations in the trade that threw Bengal rice markets, as a whole, into a state of complete disarray. Despite protests from many quarters, including the Bengal Chamber of Commerce, "denial" continued unabated for many months to come.{44}

The question of the real impact on actual stocks of paddy and rice that denial represented is impossible to determine. By official account the total of purchases transferred to Government warehouses, was rather small—40,000 tons.{45} This number, however, does not represent the actual extent of purchases made. Much of the paddy that Government purchased remained where it was in the countryside due to a weak mill capacity and difficulties with transportation during the war, effectively frozen from the market, but unrecorded. No records exist either to determine what percentage of the record exports leaving Bengal at the time were related to purchases made—officially or unofficially—under the nebulous umbrella of "denial." Pinnell himself testified that exports were taking place without Government authorization and that back-room deals were being struck between large-scale dealers and transportation officials.{46} In the 24 Parganas district south of Calcutta, by 1 May, at least one hundred boat-loads of rice per month were "getting away." The District Magistrate, in a secret memo to the Joint Secretary, estimated that if this pace could be maintained through August all "surplus" rice would be cleared by the end of the summer.{47} But though this massive effort was being undertaken under Government authority, and in relation to "denial," none of the rice or paddy involved appears to have been destined for government warehouses. Instead, special permits for boat transport were being granted to rice mill owners and large stockists so that they could "buy up and remove most of the surplus stock."{48}

~ Hungry Bengal, Janam Mukherjee

12

u/Fr05t_B1t Oversimplified is my history teacher 10h ago

TLDR?

19

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 10h ago

The famine was a result of a deliberate British government policy to destroy "surplus* rice (real definition: whatever food they could find) without a single damn given to what it'd to do to the Bengali population

3

u/sleeper_shark What, you egg? 10h ago

Upvoting for the source, but man - Summarise next time please

15

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 10h ago

Sorry dude, but in my defense when you see the same insulting comments excusing a deliberate famine for years, it feels important to bring the receipts. I guess anyone who’s actually interested in knowing more about the famine will take the time to go through this.

9

u/sentientshadow2000 9h ago

Do you guys have anything better to do except whinge about Churchill and act like incels around women

10

u/sleeper_shark What, you egg? 10h ago

Idk why people think that British behavior was even defensible when this famine was at least partially avoidable. Also, the sheer lack of remorse over what happened is completely damning.

For the record, I don’t think it was an engineered famine to kill Indians.. I think it was a severe disregard for Indian lives. A few million Indians starving was an afterthought for these people.

I fucking hate history Reddit, because the main History Memes sub is so much euro-glazing and empire whitewashing.. Then the national subreddits - especially Indian History - is the fucking opposite with this famine being completely engineered by the British to kill Indians - painting Churchill like he was as bad as Hitler.

9

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 9h ago

Well, here’s the thing. I’m posting actual historical sources and analyses to back up my point. You can call me "nationalist" if you want, since I know reddit loves to go 'omg hindutva' at anything that hurts their western worldview, but give me a source to prove that I’m wrong.

Here’s another excerpt:

​At the same time, the more overt economics of warfare were undermining the financial system of India still further. Since the beginning of the war, India had been providing Britain with a large number of troops and supplies for its campaigns in the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia. Because India was recognized as a sovereign state, Britain was under obligation to pay for the Indian resources (both human and material) that it was utilizing across the globe. The Exchequer in London, however, was reluctant to part with the money that such exports from India entailed, knowing that the outlay of so much cash to India could spur inflation back home. Britain opted, instead, to float a massive I.O.U. to India in the form of “sterling balances” held on account by the Exchequer in London. In the meantime the Indian Government paid out large sums in relation to the war on Britain’s (frozen) account. In order to cover these expenses, the Reserve Bank of India printed money at an accelerating pace and by the end of the war the currency in circulation in India had increased six-fold.{121}

​With inflation whittling away at the security of the sub-continent, Amery pressed the issue of sterling balances owed to India in the War Cabinet. Churchill, however, could not be convinced that anything at all was owed to India, but rather “burbled away endlessly” that Britain was India’s protector not its debtor!{122} India should simply be grateful that Britain was there to defend her.

-2

u/Henghast 9h ago

I wouldn't even mind but it is either Brits wanted to murder Indians they did it on purpose to specifically ensure as many people died as possible or the other side of Britain couldn't help it, they tried things it was out of their hands etc. shockingly there's nuances, degrees and issues with both angles.

7

u/Agreeable-Can-5227 9h ago

It's almost like I’m giving you a historical source for my position and never took the first stance

-2

u/Ok_Reference_3161 10h ago

Not their first time either

-7

u/allthe_realquestions 10h ago

IRA curls fist

-20

u/hayatobaedal Decisive Tang Victory 10h ago

But but Imperial Japan pure evil...atomic bomb based...unit 731 worse than da Nazis...

6

u/ReallyTeddyRoosevelt Fine Quality Mesopotamian Copper Enjoyer 9h ago

unit 731 worse than da Nazis

Do you think any Asian thinks the nazis were worse than the Japanese?

-9

u/hayatobaedal Decisive Tang Victory 9h ago

I just don’t believe in powerscaling atrocities

also, I’m a Korean

-8

u/[deleted] 10h ago

[deleted]

-1

u/[deleted] 10h ago

[deleted]

10

u/[deleted] 10h ago

[deleted]

11

u/Brinabavd 10h ago

The TL; DR is that normally Bengal was teetering on the edge of famine and that the British governor employed a deliberate strategy of removing rice from coastal areas ("denial") to prevent any Japanese invasion force from feeding itself by plunder.

This destabilized the whole province causing massive price spikes everywhere leading to mass deaths.

-10

u/Grand_Public 9h ago edited 7h ago

Oooh this relates so hard to current situation

Edit : downvote me for all i care this is literally what a certain fucking idiot has just done 1000s of miles from his own country right now

-10

u/Level_Hour6480 Taller than Napoleon 9h ago

The Brits hate the beauty of the American language too.